“Come on.” I grab her hand, leading her back into Marks’ bedroom. It wasn’t too hard of a find. She put it behind a pillow. I’m sure thinking Cosima would be looking for it at some point but not wanting it just left out for me to find.
Cosima proceeds to the bathroom, putting the stick on her bathroom sink when she’s done. I pull her down to sit in my lap. “You okay?”
“You really okay with this?” She lays her head on my shoulder. “Before a few weeks ago you were fighting this; now we might be pregnant.”
“I’ve been fighting to not take you too soon, not the idea ofus. We were always going to happen.” I feel her nod.
"When did you know we'd be together?"
"Always."
"No." She lets out a small laugh. "I mean like together together, not friends or whatever it was when we were younger."
"Honestly." I try to think back. "You've always been my whole world from the start. Rochelle bringing you home changed me in a way that I didn’t understand back then. I was fascinated and drawn to you." I smile, thinking back to my childhood. Cosima was a new beginning for me, and she was always full of life too. "You had this way of calming me. It was the first time I'd felt that since my parents died."
"Really?" She lifts her head. "I thought I drove you nuts."
I cup the back of her neck. "You do. I wouldn't want it any other way." I press a kiss to her lips. "I don't know when it fully flipped, but you have always been my person. There was never and will never be anyone else." I’ve never spoken truer words. She is my life.
“I don’t know.” Her brows pull together, and she shifts on my lap. I can sense her pulling back from me.
“Talk to me.”
“That was all really sweet; it’s just…” She lets out a long, deep breath, and I know whatever she is about to say has been weighing on her. "If it was always me and never anyone else, then—" Cosima pauses. I wait. I'll do it all day if I have to. "Thenyou weren't with other people. Dating or whatever you call it." She glances down.
"What makes you think I have been?"
“I just figured.”
“No, Cosima. Never,” I reassure her. I can be overbearing when it comes to her, but I’m not a dumbass. I’m not a hypocrite. I would have to have had some audacity to scare boys away from her while I was fucking random girls. Being with anyone else has never even been a thought. Cosima has and always will be it for me.
“Really?” She playfully eyes me, but I see right through it. This has been on her mind, and I hate that. It would kill me to think of her with anyone, and here she is thinking I might have been at some point. Fuck that.
I grip her chin, getting closer to her so she can see right into my eyes. “Never. Nothing. No one else. Got it?”
“Yeah.” She licks her lips. “I mean, why would you want another girl when you’ve got me?” Cosima gives a teasing smirk.
“Exactly, how could I ever?” Her eyes fill with tears. “Hey now.”
“They’re happy ones. I know I’m playing it off with joking, and I know you know that.” I do, but it’s her way. No one can break the tension in a room faster than Cosima. “But.” She sniffles. “I love you.” I let her words sink in for a second, loving the way they make me feel.
“I love you too, sweetness.” It’s not the first time we’ve said I love you to each other. Cosima has always used the L word her whole life, and we all say it back, but this is different, and I know that. This time it’s all mine.
“Obviously.” She sniffles again, making me laugh. “Oh! The test.” She practically jumps off my lap, grabbing it. A small gasp leaves her. “I’m pregnant,” she whispers.
I come up behind her, wrapping my arm around her to place my hand on her stomach. "You know I really did dream of you pregnant."
"Really?" Her eyes meet mine in the mirror.
"All the time."
Cosima turns to face me. "I'm so happy and freaking excited."
"Good." Cosima places her hands on my chest.
"How do you think my parents will take this?" A V forms between her brows. "My dad brought up the idea of me getting married recently." I tense at the thought of Dario trying to marry her off to someone.
Dario is a difficult man to read. He doesn't give away shit. I believe his wife is the only person who can accurately predict his behavior. I will, however, fight him on this. I don't want it to come to that, but if he tries to go down that path, I will do whatever necessary. I won’t let anyone or anything stand in my way when it comes to her and our baby. Cosima doesn't belong to him; she's mine. The sooner everyone gets that, the better for all of us.
